In 2022 it was a joy to be back at the Wigmore Hall, King’s Place, English National Opera, Royal Opera and Opera Holland Park. In February, Royal Opera House offered up an imaginative staging of Handel’s oratorio Theodora. Theodora came with a great cast, featuring the fabulous Joyce DiDonato as Irene and new countertenor, Jakub…
Tag: Wigmore Hall
Interview with French Conductor Christophe Rousset, musical director of period ensemble ‘Les Talens Lyriques’.
Armide opens tomorrow at L’Opéra Comique in Paris. The opera house has been restored to its former glory – how does it feel to be performing in such a space? It’s a place which holds many fond memories for me. I have worked here often and I had my first conducting experience at L’Opéra Comique…
Continental lift: Rebeca Omordia, ‘African Pianism’; the African Concert Series
This marvellous disc contains multitudes. The variety of sounds and styles packed into its generous 77 minutes showcases not only the infinite intrigue of a music too little-heard until now, but the lightly-worn virtuosity of Omordia herself. (Important note: for the facts/background underpinning this post, I’m indebted to Robert Matthew-Walker’s invaluable booklet notes which, in…
Set free?
A couple of evenings before writing this, I had the privilege of attending the first art song recital with a live audience at London’s Wigmore Hall since it re-opened to socially-distanced audiences in line with the UK’s current ‘roadmap’ for ending lockdown. The concert was an all-Schubert progamme, performed by soprano Carolyn Sampson and pianist…
Soprano Katharina Konradi sings Schubert, Strauss and Mozart
You may be forgiven for not having heard of soprano, Katharina Konradi. Brought up in the mountainous republic of Kyrgyzstan, Konradi left her homeland in Central Asia in her teens, to go and live in Germany. Since then her star has been steadily rising, in Europe mostly. Her successes in singing competitions has earned her…
Across time and space: Carolyn Sampson & Matthew Wadsworth at Wigmore Hall
Even if there had been no lockdown, and no live music drought to go with it, I think I would have been excited about this concert to borderline-unmanageable levels. Carolyn Sampson is one of my very favourite singers, and – to my delight – has shown a strong focus on art song in recent years,…
Wagner Singing Competition at the Wigmore
Climatic scene from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde 1910 Rogelio de Egusquiz 1979 was my A-level year. Also the year I discovered Richard Wagner. We had one good stereo system in our sitting room which pumped out rock, pop, jazz and classical at all hours, to all corners of our Victorian house in Barnes. One Sunday afternoon, hunched…
Favourite things: Wigmore Hall, London
The first in an occasional series in which ArtMuseLondon reviewers select favourite art works, places, music……. Wigmore Hall, nestling unobtrusively just a stone’s throw from the bustle and litter of Oxford Street in a row of tall Edwardian façades, is London’s pre-eminent venue for chamber music, song recitals and solo piano concerts. It was built…
Variations on a traditional programme – Inon Barnatan at Wigmore Hall
George Frideric Handel – Chaconne in G major HWV435 Johann Sebastian Bach – Partita No.4 in D major BWV828, II. Allemande Jean-Philippe Rameau – Premier livre de pieces de clavecin, IV. Courante in A minor François Couperin – Second livre de pieces de clavecin, Ordre 12 No. 8 L’Atalante Maurice Ravel – Le tombeau…
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